Second death in a family cluster

Kenya's Health Ministry announced on Friday, 23 October 2026, that a 65-year-old woman had died of Ebola, the second death in the country's first ever outbreak of the disease. She was a close family member and direct contact of the first patient, a Kenyan man who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and died at a Nairobi hospital on 5 October. The ministry said she had been in quarantine when she developed symptoms on 13 October. In its announcement the ministry stated the death plainly.

“Sadly, she succumbed to the disease early this evening.”

Nine cases have now been confirmed in Kenya, two of them fatal, and seven people are still receiving treatment at two isolation facilities.

Patients in treatment and contact tracing

Kenyan authorities have traced 135 contacts, and all of them have been placed in quarantine. The seven patients still in treatment are three other relatives of the first patient, three health workers and a hospital cleaner. The ministry describes all the cases as one cluster, with no evidence of community spread. The International Rescue Committee, which has worked alongside both governments, says Kenya faces a steady risk of new cases crossing its borders, with more than 9,500 cases recorded in DR Congo.

Confirmed cases9

Deaths2

Under treatment7

Contacts traced135

Confirmed cases

9

Deaths

2

Under treatment

7

Contacts traced

135

Data from the article text

How the first patient reached Nairobi

The first patient fell ill in September and was treated in several hospitals in DR Congo before he crossed the land border into Uganda. He flew from Kampala to Nairobi on 3 October and died at a Nairobi hospital on 5 October. Ebola spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit, and as the disease progresses it can cause organ failure, with some patients bleeding internally or externally. The timeline below sets out the dates reported so far.

Regional spread and travel measures

The outbreak has now been reported in four African countries across eastern, central and western Africa. Nigeria became the fourth on Tuesday, 20 October, and Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said an analysis showed that case was closely related to the virus found in Kenya's index case. Uganda recorded 20 infected people and two deaths before it was declared Ebola-free in August, and it has now said travellers with a history of travel to DR Congo will not be permitted to transit through the country. Kenya has introduced enhanced screening for travellers from DR Congo and nine other high-risk countries: Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Those travellers must complete a digital surveillance form before boarding and present a QR code to port health officials on arrival. The United States has warned its citizens against travelling to Kenya, and Ethiopia and Somalia are also on alert.

The outbreak in DR Congo

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which is relatively rare and has no approved vaccine or treatment, although trials are under way. DR Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May and has since reported more than 9,000 cases. Figures for deaths differ between reports: one gives more than 4,600 deaths in DR Congo, another more than 4,380 deaths in the country, and a third more than 4,000 deaths across Africa. Kenya's case is the first the country has recorded, and its authorities are monitoring the people who had contact with the infected patients.